IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MTS) 


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Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


1 


O 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notas/Notos  tachniques  at  bibliographiquas 


Tha  Instituta  has  attampted  to  obtain  tha  bast 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  altar  4ny  of  tha  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couvertura  de  coulour 


I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


D 


Coi^verture  endommagte 


Covars  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaur^  at/ou  pelMculAe 


□    Cover  title  missing/ 
La 


titre  de  couverture  manque 


□    Coloured  maps/ 
Cartes  gAographiques  en  couleur 

C]    Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
I    Encre  da  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bioua  ou  noir«i 

rn    Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


D 
D 


n 


a 


Planchaa  at/ou  iiluafations  an  couleur 


Bound  with  other  material/ 
RaliA  avac  d'autres  documents 


Ttght  binding  may  causa  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  re  liure  serrie  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distorsion  la  long  da  la  marge  intirieura 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajout*es 
lors  d'une  rastauration  apparaissant  dans  la  texte. 
mais,  lorsque  cela  Atait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  M  film^as. 

Additional  comments:/  ^ 

Commantaires  supplimantaires; 


L'!nstitut  a  microfilm*  la  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  itt  possible  de  se  procurer.  Las  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique.  qui  peuvent  modifier 
una  image  reproduite.  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mithoda  normale  de  filmaga 
sont  indiqute  ci-dessous. 


D 
Q 
D 

n 
n 
n 


Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagies 

Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  restauries  at/ou  peiliculAes 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  dicolories,  tachaties  ou  piquies 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d^tachias 

Showthrough/ 
Transparence 

Quality  of  print  varies/ 
Qualitift  inAgale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  material/ 
Comprend  du  material  supplementaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 

Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  orrata 
slips,  tissues,  etc..  have  been  ref limed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Lea  peges  totalement  ou  partiellemant 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  una  pelure, 
etc..  ont  it6  fiimies  i  nouveau  de  ftcon  d 
obtanir  la  mailleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film*  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu*  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


26X 


30X 


The  copy  filmed  hora  has  baan  raproducad  thanka 
to  tha  ganaroaity  of: 

Library  of  tha  Pubiic 
Archivas  of  Canada 


L'axamplaira  filmA  fut  raproduit  grAca  h  la 
g4n4roaitA  da: 

la  bibliothiqua  das  Archivas 
publiquas  du  Canada 


Tha  imagas  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  bast  quality 
poaaibia  considaring  tha  condition  and  lagibility 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  Icaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  spacif ications. 


Original  copias  in  printad  papar  covara  ara  filmad 
baginning  with  tho  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  last  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impras- 
sion,  or  tha  back  covar  whan  appropriata.  All 
othar  original  copias  ara  filmad  baginning  on  tha 
first  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impras- 
sion,  and  anding  on  tha  laat  paga  with  a  printad 
or  illustratad  imprassion. 


Tha  last  racordad  frama  oa  aach  microficha 
shall  contain  tha  symbol  — ^-  (moaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  tha  symbol  V  (moaning  "END"), 
whichavar  applias. 


Las  imagas  suivantas  ont  At6  raproduitaa  avac  la 
plus  grand  soin,  compta  tanu  da  la  condition  at 
da  la  nettatA  da  l'axamplaira  film4,  at  an 
conformity  avac  las  conditions  du  contrat  da 
filmaga. 

Laa  axamplairaa  originaux  dont  la  couvortura  an 
papiar  ast  imprimia  sont  filmte  an  commandant 
par  la  pramiai  plat  at  an  tarminant  soit  par  la 
darnlAra  paga  qui  cotnporta  una  amprainta 
d'imprassion  ou  d'iilustratlon,  soit  par  la  sacond 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  las  autres  axamplairaa 
originaux  sont  filmte  an  commanpant  par  la 
pramiAra  paga  qui  comporta  una  amprainta 
d'imprassion  ou  d'illustration  at  an  tarminant  par 
la  darnlAra  paga  qui  comporta  una  talla 
amprainta. 

Un  daa  symbolaa  suivanta  apparattra  sur  la 
darnlAra  imaga  da  chaqua  microficha,  salon  la 
cas:  la  symbols  — ►  signifia  "A  SUIVRE",  la 
aymbola  y  aignifia  "FIN". 


Maps,  platas,  charts,  ate,  may  ba  filmad  at 
diffarant  raduction  ratios.  Thosa  too  larga  to  ba 
antiraly  inciudacf  in  ona  axposura  ara  filmad 
baginning  in  tha  uppar  laft  hand  corner,  laft  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  framas  as 
raquirad.  Tha  following  diagrams  iilustiata  tha 
mathod: 


Laa  cartas,  planchas,  tablaaux,  ate,  pauvanv  Atra 
filmte  A  daa  taux  da  reduction  diff Grants. 
Lorsqua  la  documant  aat  trop  grand  pour  Atra 
raproduit  an  un  saul  ciichA,  11  aat  f  iimd  A  partir 
da  I'angla  supAriaur  gaucha,  da  gaucha  A  droita, 
at  da  haut  an  baa,  an  pranant  la  nombra 
d'imagas  nAcaasai'a.  Laa  diagrammas  suivanta 
illustrant  la  mAthoda. 


1     1 

2 

3 

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3 

4 

s 

6 

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mm 


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THE 


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TOEOSTO  k  GEOKGIAS  BAT 


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SHIP   CANAL. 


lEPLY  TO  CERTAIN  QUERIES 


or  THB 


MO^:0]liBLE  THE  CANAL  COMMITTEE  OF  THE  CANADUN  PARLIAMENT. 


V  '^ 


■■^'' 


J      BY  "WILLIAM  BEOSS,  A.M., 


OF  THE  CHICAGO  TBIBUNS. 


■",'.S^'' 


I  <^l  I 


CHIC  A  GO: 

TBIBUNE   BOOK  AND  JOB   PRINTING   ESTABLISHMENT. 

1864. 


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REPLY. 


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Chicago  Daily  Tribune  Office, 
April  20tii,    18G4. 

To  the  Honorable  the  Canal  Committee^ 

of  the  Canadian  Parliament. 
Gentlemen  : 

I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter, 
embracing  several  queries  in  relation  to  the  proposed  Georgian 
Bay  Canal,  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy : 

Canada  Legislative  Assembly, 

CoMMiTTEK  Room  No.  16, 

15th  March,  1864. 
Sib: 

I  beg  to  inform  you  that  I  am  instructed  by  the  committee 
appointed  to  consider  the  practicability  and  propriety  of  con- 
structing a  Ship  Canal  between  the  Georgian  Bay  and  Lake 
Ontario,  via  Lake  Simcoe,  to  transmit  you  the  following  queries, 
to  be  answered  at  your  earliest  convenience : 

Question  JVb.  1. — Will  you  state  to  the  committee  your 
opinion,  (1)  as  to  the  advantages  that  would  accrue  to  the 
NorthrWestern  States  by  the  construction  of  the  Toronto  and 
Georgian  Bay  Ship  Canal ;  (2)  the  prospects  of  a  remunerative 
return  on  the  capital  expended  in  its  construction,  taking  the 
estimates  and  reports  of  Messrs.  Mason  and  Tully  as  the  basis, 
published  in  1858;  and  (3)  whether  any  interest  in  such  a' 
work  would  be  taken  by  capitalists  and  merchants  in  the  United 
States. 

Question    No.    2.  — Also,   the   advantages,  if  any,   that  the 
Georgian  Bay  route  would   possess  over  others,   as  to  tims, 


!\ 


distance  and  the  general  convenience  with  respect  to  trade  and 
commerce,  more  particuUirly  in  reference  to  return  cargoes. 

Question    No.    3. — Also,   whether  the  construction  of  other 

proposed  routes,  or  the  enlargement  of  the  Welland  Canal,  would 

pe  more  advisable  than  the   construction  of  the   Toronto  and 

^Georgian  Bay  Ship  Canal,   to  meet  the   requirements   of  the 

^ '  "Western  trade. 

Respectfully  Yours, 

J.  W.  MAC  EDWARDS, 
"William  Bboss,  Esq.,  Clerk  to  Committee. 

Chicago  Tribune. 


To   these    queries 
following  reply. 


I  beg  leave    respectfully   to    submit  the 


To  nearly  all  the  points  embraced  in  them  it  might  be  a  suffi- 
cient answer  to  make  the  general  statement,  that  the  census 
returns  of  18Q0  have  confirmed  nearly  all  the  anticipations  of  the 
reports  of  Messrs.  Mason  and  TuUy  on  the  Georgian  Bay  Canal, 
and  moic  especially,  the  figures  put  down  for  that  year,  in  the 
table  on  page  seventeen  of  that  document.  Indeed,  in  most,  if 
not  all  cases,  the  facts,  as  shown  by  census  and  o*her  reliable 
reports,  exceed  the  estimates  of  Messrs.  Mason  and  Tully,  and  I 
have  no  doubt  whatever  that  such  will  continue  to  be  the  result 
of  all  prudent  calculations  for  half  a  century  to  come. 

But  to  be  more  specific — 

I.  You  inquire,  first,  "  As  to  the  advantages  that  would 
accrue  to  the  North-Western  States  by  the  construction  of  the 
Toronto  and  Georgian  Bay  Ship  Canal." 

I  answer,  their  continiied  settlement  and  development  are  depen- 
dent upon  the  opening  of  new  and  greatly  increased  facilities  for  the 
transit  o'i' their  products  to  the  ocean.  So  largely  has  production 
increased  upon  the  means  of  transit,  that  in  1861  the  Erie  Canal  was 
clogged  with  business.  Freights  were  so  high  and  prices  for  farm 
products  80  low,  that  in  many  sections  of  the  West,  corn  in  large 
quantities  was  actually  used  for  fuel.  But  before  entering  into 
particulars,  allow  me  to  ask  your  attention  to  the  extent  of  the 
North-West,  whose  commerce  is  to  be  fostered  by,  and  will  con- 


tribute  to,  the  business  of  the  Georgian  Bay  Canal ;  the  amonnt 
of  hmd  under  cultivation  in  1860 ;  its  present  commerce  and 
rapid  growth  ; —  all  of  which  may  tend  to  give  you  some  fair  esti- 
mate of  the  traffic  of  the  proposed  canal. 

Were  the  increased  facilities  for  transit  to  the  ocean  which  th« 
Georgian  Bay  Ship  Canal,  especially  if  it  were  construclud  ns 
recommended,  to  pass  ocean-bound  vessels  of  a  thousand  tons 
burthen,   afforded  to   the   commerce   of  Lake   Michigan,   tnide 
would  certainly  be  attracted  from  points  as  far  south  as  St.  Louis. 
The  territory  west  of  Lake  Michigan  and  north  of  a  line  running 
east  and  west  through  St.  Louis,  and  east  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, and  capable  of  sustaining  a  dense  and  prosperous  popula- 
tion, consists,   in  round   numbers,   of  seven   hundred  thousand 
square  miles.     In  this  statement  ample  allowance  is  made  for 
whatever    of   the   "great    American    desert"    lies   within  the 
limits  under  consideration.     The   report  of  H.  U.   Hind,  Esq., 
geologist  of  the  recent  Canadian  exploring  expedition,  shows 
that  tlicrc  are  four  hundred  thousand  square  miles  of  territory 
lying  within  the  valleys  of  the   Saskatchawan,  the  Assiniboine, 
and  of  the  other  rivers  that  tiow  into  Lake  Winnipeg.     So  that 
it  is  safe  to  say  that  there  are  one  million  one  hundred  thousand 
squixre  miles  of  the  ricliest  land  upon  the  globe,  for  whose  com- 
merce the  Georgian  Bay  Canal  would  compete  with  the  Erie 
Canal  and  the  great  lines  of  railway  between  the  West  and  the 
seaboard.     There  is,  therefore,  territory  enough  within  the  limits 
of  the  United  States,  between   Lake  Michigan  and  the  liocky 
Mountains,  to  form  seventeen  States  as  large  as  Ohio,  and  who- 
ever has  studied  its  climate,  soil  and  resources,  knows  they  would 
be  vastly  richer  and  more   productive.     In  addition   to   these, 
there  is  a  country  west  of  Lake  Winnipeg,  and  east  of  the  moun- 
tains within  the  British  Possessions,  rich  in  everything  that  can 
give  wealth  and  prosperity  to  a  people,  amply  sufficient  to  form 
ten  more  States  as  large  as  Ohio.     And  yet,  in  all  this  vast  fertile 
country,  west  of  Lakes  Michigan  and  Winnipeg,  there  are  but 
little  more  than  half  as  many  square  miles  of  land  under  cultiva- 
tion as  there  are  in  the  single  State  of  Illinois. 

If  we  go  back  for  figures  previous  to  1850,  showing  the  growth 
of  the  territory  west  of  the  Lakes,  more  marked  results  are 
obtained  than  we   find   since,  for,  comparatively  speaking,  the 


6 


'X 


"tt  .^^ 


country  had  only  jnst  begun  to  be  developed.  The  increase  of 
the  last  ti'U  years,  as  shown  by  the  Ibllowing  table,  carefully 
compiled  from  the  census  reports,  is  sufficiently  striking.  The 
statistics  include  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Iowa,  and  the 
northern  half  of  Missouri: 


) 


Land  under  cultivation — square  miles 

Populatiuii 

Wheat,  busheU 

Coin,  "       

Oats,  "       

Swine,  number 

Cattle,       "       


1850. 


13,100 

1,696,174 

16,2Ji2,688 

68,309,637 

1. '5,086,840 

2,399,164 

1,234,092 


1860. 


83,323 

8,768,216 

60,601,142 

lfi7,368,62S 

34,477,045 

3,636,092 

2,673,704 


These  figures  show  a  most  astonishing  progress.  They  de- 
monstrate an  appreciation  in  a  single  decade  of  Irom  nearly  a 
hundred  to  more  than  three  hundred  per  cent. 

I  beg  your  special  attention  to  the  following  statistics  taken 
from  the  carefully  prepared  yearly  tables  of  the  Chicago  Tribune. 
As  Chicago  is  the  great  commercial  centre  of  the  North- West, 
these  figures  will  tend  still  further  to  illustrate  the  rapid  growth 
of  the  North- West,  and  the  pressing  necessity  for  greatly 
enlarged  facilities  to  transport  her  products  to  the  ocean.  They 
vary  somewhat  with  the  abundance  of  the  crops,  and  the  demand 
for  them,  financial  embarrassments,  etc.,  but  they  certainly  show 
a  most  wonderful  development  of  the  resources  of  the  West. 

TOTAL  KE0EIPT8  OF  FLOUR  AND  GRAIN  FOR  FOUR  YEARS. 


Wheat,  bush 

Corn,  bu?h 

Oats,  bush 

Rye,  bush 

Barley,  bush 

Total 

Add  Flour  into  Wheat 

Total 


1860. 


14,-568,429 

15,487,966 

2,029,906 

295,436 

623,006 


33,004,742 
8,500,080 


36,604,776 


1861. 


17,539,909 

26,543,233 

1,883,258 

479,005 

417,129 


46,862,534 
7,230,865 


64,093,219 


1862. 


13,728,116 

29,449,328 

4,138,722 

1,038,825 

872,053 


49,227,044 
8,331,953 


67,608,999 


1863. 


11,180,344 
26,450,508 

9,139,526 
839,760 

1,098,346 

48,708,483 
7,371,420 

66,079,903 


^ 


^ 


TOTAL    SIIirMENTS    OP    FLOUR    AND    OUAIN   FROM   CHICAGO   FOR 

FOUR   YBAR9. 


Wheat,  bash. 
Com,  bush.  . 
Oats,  bush  , . 
Rye,  bush.. . 
Barley,  bush. 


Total 

Add  Flour  into  Wheat. 


Total. 


1800. 


12,487,684 

13,743,172 

1, 039,7  »9 

129,166 

290,211 


27,690,002 
3,506,695 


81,256,697 


1861. 


16,788,385 

24,186,382 

1,665,384 

422,492 

r.:,293 


42,'2a7,936 
7,125,446 


49,363,381 


1862. 


13,808,898 

29,462,610 

3,112,306 

871,796 

632,196 


47,777.865 
8,('i99,245 


66,477,110 


1868. 


9,341,881 
24,444,147 

7,674,994 
836,183 
668,786 


42,864,890 
7.688,465 


60,648,846 


■| 


SHIPMENT  OF  FLOUR    (REDUCED  TO  WIIEAT)    AND   GRAIN,  FROM 
CHICAGO,  FOR  TWENTY-SIX  YEARS. 


Years. 

Wheat, 
bushels. 

Corn, 
bushels. 

Oats, 
bushels. 

Rve. 

bushels. 

Barley, 
bushels. 

Total, 
bushels. 

1838.... 

1839 

1340.... 

1841 

1842.... 
1843.... 
1844.... 
1845.... 
1846.... 
1847.... 

1848 

1849.... 

1860 

1861.... 
1852..., 

1853 

1854 

1865 

1856 

1857.... 

1868 

1869 

1860 

1861 

1862..., 
1863.... 

78 

3,678 

10,000 

40,000 

686,907 

688,907 

923,494 

1,024,020 

1,699,619 

2,136.994 

2,286,000 

2.192,809 

1,387,989 

799,380 

941,470 

1,680,998 

2,744,800 

7,110,270 

9,419,365 

10,783,292 

10,909,243 

10,759,359 

Hi,0.')4,879 

22,913,830 

22,902,766 

17,925,336 

T-rm r  — 

67,135 

666,460 

644,848 

282,013 

3,221,317 

2,767,011 

2,780,253 

0,8.37,899 

7,547,678 

11,129,658 

6,814,615 

7,49.3,212 

4,217,664 

13,743,172 

24,186,382 

29,462,610 

24,444,147 

38,892 

66,280 

26,849 

186,054 

605,827 

2,030  317 

1,748  493 

3,239,987 

1,888.533 

1,01 4,. 54  7 

316,778 

1,498,134 

1,174.177 

1,039,779 

1,65.5,384 

3.112,666 

7,674,994 

'  '31*453 

22,872 

19,997 

127,028 

120,275 

148,421 

92,032 

19,051 

17.993 

127,008 

478,162 

129,166 

422,492 

871,796 

836,133 

*  17*31*5 

82,162 

41,163 

20,132 

690 

'  V,.i69 
131,449 
290,211 
185,293 
632,195 
668,735 

78 

3,678 

10,000 

40,000 

686,907 

688,907 

923,494 

1,024.620 

1,599,619 

2,243,021 

3,001,740 

2,769,111 

1,830,938 

4,646,291 

6,873,141 

6,412,181 

12,932,320 

16,633,700 

21,.583,22I 

18,032,678 

20,036,166 

16,753,796 

31,256,697 

49,363,381 

50,477,110 

60,648,345 

I 


8 


RKCEIPT8  AND  SIIIPMKNTS  OF  nOOS  AND  BKEP  CATTLK,  IN  (  HICAQO, 

FOR  NINE  YEAHS. 


YEAR. 


1856 
1866 
1857 
1868 
1869 
1860 
IfBl 
1862 
1863 


HOGS. 

BEEVES. 

Recoived. 

Shipped. 

Received. 

Shipped. 

302,068 

145,680 

10,715 

8,268 

293,6. '6 

281,640 

21,960 

22,602 

251,116 

131,216 

48,624 

25,602 

630,009 

176,868 

118,151 

43,149 

281,496 

212,840 

90,674 

36,978 

865,854 

166,284 

156,753 

104,122 

675,002 

280,094 

204,579 

124,146 

1,348,890 

491,136 

2r,9.655 

112748 

1,900,619 

810,468 

298,381 

203,217 

RECEIPTS  OF  LUMBEU,  SIIINOLES,  LATH,  ETC.,  IK  CUICaOO,  FOB 

SEVENTEEN   YEARS. 


YEAR. 


1863, 
1862, 
1861 
1860 
1869 
1868 
1857 
1866 
1855 
1864 
1858 
1862 
1851 
1850 
1849 
1848 
1847 


Lumber, 
feet. 


Shingles. 
No. 


893,074,882 
299,365,000 
2^9,309,000 
255,147,000 
296,710,832 
268,616,000 
444,396,300 
441,961,900 
297,667,669 
228,336,783 
202,101,098 
147,816,232 
126,056,437 
100,364,779 
73,269,663 
60,009,260 
82,118,225 


152,485,633 

131,225,000 

79,356,000 

133,678,000 

165,087,000 

125,788,000 

130,462,000 

135,876,000 

158,770,000 

82,061,260 

93,483,784 

77,080,500 

60,338,260 

65,423.760 

39,057,760 

20,000,000 

12,148,600 


Lath. 
No. 


41,665,000 
23,830,000 
32.697,000 
30,609,000 
49,548,210 
44,617,000 
79,650,000 
79,235,120 
46,487,650 
32,431,650 
89,733,116 
19,759,670 
27,5S3,475 
19,809,700 
19,281,733 
10,025,109 
6,655,700 


TONNAGE  OP   CHICAGO. 

Arrivals.  Tonnage. 

No.  of  arrivals,  etc.,  in  1863 8,678  2,172,699 

No.  of  arrivals,  etc.,  in  1862 7,417  1,931,692 

Increase 1,261  241,007 

No.  of  clearances  in  1863 8,457 

No.  of  clearances  in  1862 7,270 

Increase 1,187 


Men. 

76,649 

67,774 

8,876 


1' 
■i 


9 


Duties  received  at  this  port,  for  the  years — 

1861.  1862.  186:^. 

$22,768.70  $66,600.04  $161,212.79 

/Second.    "  Prospects  of  a  remunerative  return  on  Capital,"  etc. 

Tho  answer  to  this  query  may  bo  deduced  from  the  above 
statiHtics,  and  the  estimates  in  tho  table,  page  seventeen,  of  the 
report  of  Col.  M;i8on.  I  may  premise,  however,  that  in  1861,  as 
before  stated,  the  Erie  Canal  was  completely  clogged  with  freight ; 
prices  of  grain  were  so  low  that  corn  was  used  as  fuel  within  two 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  Chicago,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the 
competition  of  the  Welland  and  St.  Lawrence  Canals,  it  is  im- 
possible to  estimate  to  v»'hat  figure  freights  would  have  risen. 
Since  then,  the  great  demand  for  Western  products  to  supply  the 
armies  of  the  Mississippi,  and  in  fact  also  of  the  seaboard,  and 
the  depreciation  of  our  currency,  have  largely  appreciated  the 
prices  of  Western  products,  and  our  people  have  therefore  been 
prosperous.  But  when  we  are  again  forced  to  rely  upon  foreign 
markets  to  take  cur  surplus  of  provisions,  cereals,  etc.,  and 
especially  when  it  is  vastly  enhanced  by  the  return  of  our  soldiers 
to  industrial  pursuits,  the  vital  question  will  again  return,  how  is 
this  vast  surplus  to  be  transported  to  the  ocean? 

The  best  friends  of  the  canal  can  scarcely  hope  that  a  work  of 
so  much  magnitude  can  be  completed  before  the  year  IS'TS.  The 
table  above,  taken  fi'om  the  census,  shows  that  the  increase  for 
ten  years  of  population,  production,  etc.,  in  the  territory  west  of 
Lake  Michigan,  has  been  from  nearly  a  hundred  to  three  hun- 
dred per  cent.  The  ratio  of  increase  adopted  by  Col.  Mason  for 
every  five  years,  in  the  table,  page  seventeen  of  his  report,  is 
only  twenty -nine  per  cent.,  and  his  estimate  of  revenues  for  the 
canal,  based  on  these  figures,  a  1875,  is  $1,835,037.  This  sum 
"would  pay  six  per  cent,  oi  the  entire  cost  of  the  canal, 
$22,200,000,  and  leave  a  surplus  of  half  a  million  of  dollars 
to  pay  for  repairs,  operating  expenses,  etc.,  of  the  canal.  The 
subsequent  figures,  viz. :  $2,367,198  for  1880,  $3,053,086  for  1885, 
$3,939,254  for  1890,  and  $5,081,638  for  1895,  he  who  will  study 
the  extent  and  the  resources  of  the  North-West  cannot  doubt  for 
a  moment  will  be  more  than  realized.  The  limit  of  profitable 
production  at  the  West,  owing  to  the  want  of  adequate  facilities 
of  transit  to  the  ocean,  is  now  very  nearly  reached ;  but  if  stim- 


10 


nlated  by  flic  certainty  of  the  completion  of  the  Georgian  Bay 
Canal  by  the  year  1 875,  so  that  vessels  of  a  thousanrt  tons  burthen 
could  pass  directly  from  the  ocean  to  Chicago,  and  return  with 
wheat,  corn  and  provisions  in  bulk  direct  for  Liverpool,  he  would 
be  a  bold  speculator  who  would  venture  now  to  put  down  the 
figures  that  would  represent  our  products  and  exports  even  in 
1875.  Within  the  next  quarter  of  a  century  the  great  Central 
Pacific  Railway  will  be  built,  and  beyond  a  doubt,  also  the  lino 
north-west  from  Chicago  through  St.  Paul,  the  valleys  of  the  Red 
River  and  the  Saskatchawan,  to  Vancouver's  Sound;  the  Illinois 
and  Michigan  Canal  will  be  greatly  enlarged,  and  railways  will 
be  in  operrtion  in  all  directions  through  the  vast  and  fertile  West. 
The  gold-bearing  regions  of  Colorado,  Idaho,  and  at  the  head 
waters  of  the  Saskatchawan,  will  have  attracted  an  immense  popu- 
lation, and  there  can  scarcely  be  a  doubt  that  the  figures  for  the 
population  of  the  North-West,  viz.,  16,009,044,  estimated  by  Col. 
Mason  to  be  then  in  the  North-West,  will  be  largely  exceeded. 
He  would  prove  himself  ignorant  of  the  past  and  faithless  of  the 
future,  who  could  doubt  that  so  many  millions  of  intelligent, 
industrious  and  energetic  Anglo  Saxons,  in  a  country  so  vast  and 
so  rich  in  agricultural  and  mineral  resources  as  the  Xorth-VVest, 
would  furnish  ample  and  remunerative  business,  not  only  for  the 
Georgian  Bay  Canal,  but  for  the  Erie,  the  Ottawa  and  the 
Welland,  and  for  all  the  railways  that  may  be  built  between  the 
Lakes  and  the  Atlantic  seaboard.  Thus  far  at  least,  the  boldest 
speculator  has  never  been  able  to  keep  pace  with  the  growth  of 
the  North-West  in  woalth,  population  and  power,  and  such  I 
predict  will  be  true  for  the  next  century. 

Third.  "What  interest  will  be  taken  in  the  work  by  capi- 
talists in  the  United  States." 

For  the  present  and  many  years  to  come  I'darc  not  promise  or 
hope  for  much.  The  accumulated  capital  and  the  monied  power  of 
the  country  is  concentrated  mainly  in  New  York,  and  New  York, 
from  the  necessities  of  her  position,  must  bitterly  oppose,  so  far  as 
she  can,  any  scheme  which  would  certainly  rob  her  of  the  control 
of  the  commerce  of  the  continent.  She  will  not  only  refuse  her  own 
capital;  but  she  would  exert  all  )•-  r  influence  and  power  to  pre- 
vent the  West  from  aftbrding  pecuniary  or  other  aid  to  any  great 
Canadian  enterprise.     As  to  the  West,  the  opportunities  to  use 


'I 


T 


11 


money  are  so  many,  and  the  results  generally  so  profitable,  that 
larcfe  sntna  for  such  an  investment  could  not  be  obtained.  And 
besides,  comparatively  speaking,  we  have  very  little  accnmulated 
capital.  There  is  not  to-day  half  banking  capital  enough  in 
Chicago  to  do  the  business  of  the  city.  I  have  no  doubt,  how- 
ever, thiit  the  members  of  our  Board  of  Trade,  our  merchants 
and  capitalists,  and  those  of  Milwaukee,  and  other  })oints  to  be 
benefited  directly  by  the  work,  would  subscribe  to  the  extent  of 
their  ability;  but  whatever  is  done  would  be  to  encourage  it  on 
account  of  the  benefits  to  be  received  by  them  and  the  West 
gener.'illy,  and  not  because  they  have  spare  capital  to  invest.  In 
general,  I  may  add,  that  I  believe  the  press  and  people  of  the 
West  will  give  the  work  all  the  pecuniary  and  other  encourage- 
ment in  their  power. 

II.     Cojuparison  of  routes. 

As  to  distance,  the  difference  between  the  Georgian  Bay 
and  Toronto  route  and  that  by  the  Ottawa,  is  merely  nominal. 
Between  Chicago  and  Quebec  the  route  by  the  Georgian  Bay 
Canal  is  about  three  hundred  miles  shorter  than  that  by  the 
Welland.  As  to  the  matter  of  time,  I  think  that  experience 
could  alone  furnish  a  reliable  result,  but  if  the  long,  close  canal 
and  river  navigation  of  the  Ottawa  be  compared  with  that  of 
Lake  Ontario,  and  the  broad,  deep  channel  jf  the  St.  Lawrence, 
there  can  scarcely  be  a  doubt  that  the  time  of  the  transit  of  a 
vessel  from  a  given  point  on  Lake  Huron  to  Montreal,  would  be 
largely  in  favor  of  the  Georgian  Bay  route.  As  to  the  general 
convenience  of  commerce  and  the  matter  of  return  freights,  the 
difference  is,  in  my  judgment,  very  largely  in  favor  of  the 
Toronto  and  (Tcorgian  Bay  Canal. 

What  the  millions  of  Great  Britain  need,  and  Avhat  her  states- 
men and  capitalists  at  home  and  those  of  Canada,  it  is  believed, 
are  striving  to  provide,  is,  cheap  food,  and  a  large,  steady  and 
paying  market  for  her  manufactures.  The  hundreds  of  miles  of 
the  ])roposed  Ottawa  canal  and  river  improvement  must,  as  I 
think,  always  be  conducted  by  barges,  requiring  transhipments  at 
both  ends  of  the  route.  The  St.  Clair  flats  will  always  form  a 
troublesome  barrier  to  ocean  vessels  in  reaching  Lake  Michigan 
^y  the  Welland  Canal.     And   besides,   the  money  required  to 


f 


I 


12 


enlarge  the  Welland  Canal  would  go  very  far  toward  tlie  con- 
struction of  the  Georgian  Bay  Canal,  where  it  can  be  used  more 
effectually  to  promote  the  interests  of  Great  Britain,  Canada  and 
the  great  and  growing  Norih-West.     The  great  central  highw  ay 
for  the  commerce  of  the  continent,  if  I  read  the  purposes  of  Prov- 
idence aright,  was  designed  by  him  who  formed  it  to  pass  from 
the  Georgian  Bay  through  Lake  Simcoe  to  Lake  Ontario.     There 
a  channel  can  bo   secured,   broad   and   deep,  through  which  the 
vessels  and  p  opellers  can  pass,  laden  with  the  products  of  Brit- 
ish skill  and  industry,  directly  from  London  and  Liverpool,  to 
supply  the  millions  who  shall  dwell  in  the  mighty  valleys  of  the 
Mississippi  and  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  having  performed  their 
mission,  they  could  return  filled  with  the  beef,  the  pork,  the  lard, 
and  the  golden  grains  of  the  teeming  West.     The  dangers  and 
the  expense  of  transhipment,  always,  if  possible,  to  be  avoided 
in  commerce,  woukl  thus  be  entirely  removed.     The  products  of 
the  West  would  now  go  to  Europe  by  the  St.  Lawrence  probably 
a  hundred  fold  more  than  they  do,  could  the  Quebec  and  Mon- 
treal lines  bring  back  the  foreign  goods  consumed  by  the  West. 
For  the  last  year,  and,  if  i  mistake  not,  for  two  or  three  years 
past,  a  bushel  of  corn  and  wheat  could  be  delivered  from  two  to 
five  cents  clicaper  at  the  wharves   of  Montreal,  than  they  could 
at    those   of   New  York;   but  the  large   return   freiglits   from 
Europe  received  by  New  York  vessels,  gave  them  on  the  round 
trip  the  advantage  over  the  Canadian  lines.     Build  the  Georgian 
Bay  Canal,  so  that  England  could  send  her  products  in  vessels  of 
a  thousand  tons  burthen  in  bulk  directly  to  the  consumers  west 
of  Lake  Michigan,  and  the  advantage  would  be  turned  in  their 
favor.      Great  liritain,   according    to   what  I   believe   reliable 
statistics,  imported  from  all  countries,  of  grain  and  meal,  in  ISOl, 
10,094,941  quarters,  of  which  5,398,176,  or  more  than  one-third, 
were  from  the  United  Stales;  and  I  think  it  was  Mr.  Cobden  who 
stated,  in  a  '•})eecli  at  Rochdale,   that  had  not   a   supply   been 
obtained  from  the  United  States,  there   was  not  gold  enough  in 
Lombard  street  to  buy  it,  for  other  nations  could  not  possibly 
spare  so  large  a  surplus.    There  can  scarcely  be  a  doubt  that  the 
building  of  the  Georgian  Bay  Canal  would  so  largely  cheapen 
the  price  of  grain,  that  in  less  than  five  years,  England  would 
save  on  the  price  of  her  food  more  than  the  canal  would  cost. 


t 
•«<( 


\ 


13 


Of  eight  bushels  o\'  corn  starting  from  Iowa  or  Illinois  for  Liver- 
pool, from  six  to  seven  bushels  are  consumed  in  freight,  so  that 
the  consumers  get  but  one.  Give  the  people  of  Great  Britain, 
by  cheapening  freights  through  the  construction  of  the  Georgian 
Bay  Canal,  four  or  five  bushels  of  the  eight  instead  of  one,  and 
England  would  at  once  appreciate  the  importance  of  her  Cana- 
dian colonies.  I  therefore  sincerely  believe  that  the  imperial 
government  could  well  aiford  to  advance  all  the  capital  to  build 
this  great  continental  thoroughfare,  and  not  only  make  money,  but 
feed  her  people  sumptuously  by  the  operation. 


-.\;' 
•S 


III.  I  find  I  have  incidentally  given  my  views  in  favor  of  the 
Georgian  Bay  route,  I  may  add  that  by  it  there  would  be  little 
if  any  more  close  canal  navigation  than  by  the  Welland ;  the 
route  is  some  three  hundred  miles  shorter,  and  the  navigation  by 
the  Detroit  river  and  over  the  St.  Clair  flats  would  be  avoided. 
For  the  passage  of  ocean  vessels  and  steamers  with  manufac- 
tured goods  in  bulk  bound  inward,  and  grain  and  provisions  also 
in  bulk  outward  bound,  the  Ottawa  cannot  be  compared  with  the 
Georgian  Bay  route,  for  the  hundreds  of  miles  of  close  canal 
and  river  navigation,  in  my  judgment,  make  it  available  only  for 
barges,  while  by  the  other,  vessels  of  a  thousand  tons  burthen 
can  pass  lirectly  from  the  producer  to  the  consumer,  and  thus 
the  commercial  necessities  both  of  England  and  America  be  fully 
accommodated. 

In  regard  to  the  cost  of  transit  by  the  different  routes,  I  beg 
leave  to  refer  for  facts  on  tnis  branch  of  the  subject  to  the  tables 
in  the  reports  o*^"  Messrs.  Mason  and  Tully.  In  regard  to  the 
extent  and  the  resources  of  the  North- West,  its  present  industrial 
and  commercial  status,  and  the  vital  necessity  of  greatly 
increased  facilities  of  transit  for  our  products  to  the  ocean,  I  beg 
leave  to  solicit  the  attention  of  the  Honorable  Committee  to  the 
report  of  the  Committee  on  Statistics  to  the  National  Canal  Con- 
vention held  in  this  city  in  June  last.  Of  that  Committee  I  had 
the  honor  to  be  a  member,  and  as  the  facts  and  statistics  there 
presented  are  accurate  and  comprehensive,  I  submit  them  as 
exhaustive  of  the  subject.  You  will  find  the  report  commencing 
on  pagt^  sixty-three  of  the  published  proceedings.  I  also  solicit 
your  attention  to  the  memorial  by  a  Committee  of  Congress  to 


14 


the  President  and  to  Congress  upon  the  same  subject,  at 
the  close  of  the  proceedings,  in  the  document  above  re- 
ferred  to. 

I  am  well  aware  that  these  fiicts  are  presented  from  an  Ameri- 
can and  not  from  a  Canadian  stand-point.  Thoy  are  intended  to 
influence  Congress  to  make  appropriations  to  enlarge  the  Erie 
and  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canals.  Strong  appeals  are  made 
to  Congress  to  enlarge  these  canals  as  an  essential  means  of 
defense  in  case  of  a  war  with  Great  Britain — from  such  fearful 
calamity  may  "  The  Good  Lord  ever  deliver  "  these  great  Chris- 
tian nations — but  all  the  facts  and  statistics  presented  in  the 
reports,  viewed  commercially  and  in  a  friendly  national  spirit, 
plead  with  equal  eloquence  and  force  for  the  opening  of  the 
Georgian  Bay,  the  enlargement  of  the  Welland,  and  the  con- 
struction of  the  Ottawa  Canal.  I  have  not  a  particle  of  doubt 
that  long  before  the  close  of  the  century,  the  West  will  crowd 
them,  and  also  the  Erie  Canal,  with  all  the  business  they  can  pos- 
sibly do.  She  will  be  able  and  willing  to  pay  for  all  the  manu- 
factured goods  Europe  can  send  through  these  great  thorough- 
fares ;  and  Europe  will  gladly  take  the  vast  surplus  food-products 
of  the  West,  to  feed  her  hungry  millions  of  people. 

The  fact  that  the  Georgian  Bay  Canal  would.be  in  the  territory 
of  Great  Britain,  would  not  make  a  particle  of  difference  to  the 
West  in  the  matter  of  furnishing  it  with  business.  With  remun- 
erative cargoes  for  westward-bound  vessels,  a  single  penny  a 
bushel  cheaper  on  freights,  would  eifectually  control  the  direction 
of  shipments  of  cereals  by  the  Canadian  route.  Commerce  does 
not  stop  to  inquire  through  whose  territory  goods  pass  ;  the  only 
thing  to  be  decided  is,  by  what  route  they  can  be  had  in  the 
shortest  time  and  for  the  least  money.  Whether  her  vast  pro- 
ducts find  their  way  to  the  ocean  by  the  Georgian  Bay,  the 
Welland  or  the  Erie  Canal,  makes  not  a  purticle  of  difference  to 
the  West.  The  matter  of  controlling  interest  to  her  is,  how 
cheaply  her 'products  can  be  transported  from  her  teeming 
prairies  to  the  consumers  upon  the  seaboard  .and  upon  the  other 
side  of  the  Atlantic,  and  hence  that  she  may  have  Europe  for  her 
customer  and  get  the  best  possible  price  for  her  surpUr .  If  a 
New  York  merchant  can  only  afford  to  pay  her  a  dollar  for  a 
bushel  of  wheat,  to  be  shipped  to  Europe  by  the  Erie  Canal,  and 


i 


15 


t,    at 
re- 


a  Montreal  dealer  can  afford  to  pay  a  dollar  and  ten  cents 
to  ship  by  the  Georgian  Bay  route,  the  hig'iest  offer  will 
take  the  wheat. 

I  beg  leave  to  close  by  quoting  a  sentence  which,  years  ago 
when  comparing  the  New  York  and  the  Canadian  routes,  I  used, 
and  cannot  now  improve  the  sentiment,  "  It  is  true  that  national 
pride  and  immense  capital  and  the  beaten  track  of  commerce  are 
on  the  side  of  New  York;  but  God  and  nature  are  stronger  than 
all  these ;  and  let  any  intelligent  man  compare  the  *  Erie  ditch ' 
with  the  mighty  St.  Lawrence,  and  a  canal  to  pass  vessels  of 
a  thousand  tons  burthen  from  the  Georgian  Bay  to  Toronto,  and 
he  cannot  doubt  for  a  moment  uu  which  side  the  immutable  lawa 
of  commerce  will  decide  the  contest." 

Begging  pardon  of  the  Honorable  Committee  for  my  betrayal 
into  any  discussion  of  a  topic  not  strictly  embraced  in  their 
queries,  offering,  as  my  excuse  for  so  doing,  the  deep  interest  I 
feel  in  the  success  of  this  great  enterprise,  so  promotive  of  peace 
and  commercial  prosperity  between  England  and  America,  I  am, 
gontlemen. 

Very  truly,  and  most  respectfully. 

Your  Obedient  Servant, 

WM.  BROSS. 


Wl 


